SOTW: MG 1100

Not the most glamorous Shed ever, but a pretty cool 'starter' classic...

We'll fully admit, right from the start, that today's SOTW doesn't exactly fulfil the 'speed matters' part of the PistonHeads brief - a car with 55hp and 61lb ft of torque never will. But it's not often that Shed's £1k budget will allow you to walk off with a fully-fledged classic in relatively decent fettle.

We won't call this MG 1100 a 'time warp' car - because it is very obviously a little dog-eared - but it does seem to have a genuinely low mileage of 23,000, a single owner for the past five decades and has never been restored. All of which makes it quite remarkable for £995, we reckon.

Heck, it's even got a brand new MOT, which it sailed through (we're told) despite having been in storage for almost 10 years.

Of course, if this was PH circa 1975 (forgetting for a moment the fact that the webnet had not even been conceived), this would be rather like featuring a decade-old Focus today. But age does odd things to cars.

You see, though the ADO16 (Austin Drawing Office project number 16, don'tcha know), known variously as the Morris 1100, Austin 1100, Riley Kestrel, Vanden Plas Princess, Wolseley 1100 and MG 1100 was consistently one of the best sellers of the 1960s and therefore the essence of mundane, today it's a comparative rarity.

Compound this with the fact that the MG version has the extra allure of twin carbs (though we would question the vendor's assertion that the car "pulls like a train"), a two-tone interior (everybody say 'ooh'), and a cameo appearance in mid-60s James Caan movie Redline 7000 and you've got quite a desirable starter classic.

The only question is what you'd do with it. Obviously we don't mean take it to the first available run-what-ya-brung at Santa Pod, but it's a valid point. So would you keep it on a shoestring, true Shed style, or would you buy and give her a light resto? Choices, choices...

Here’s a very rare bird indeed. It’s a 1966 (D reg) MG 1100 twin carb, the early MG 1100 model with the strip speedo clock set into the wooden dash. Now this car has NO PREVIOUS OWNERS and until I discovered it, had belonged to the same chap from the day it left the showroom. The mileage of 23,000 is believed to be correct. I gave this honest old girl a good check over before purchase and also asked that it be sent for an MoT as it had been off the road and in his garage since 2002. It needed 4 new tyres and otherwise sailed through the MoT. It looks to be excellent underneath, as well as in the boot, the engine bay and underneath the original – if somewhat tired – carpets. She drives really well and pulls like a train with that twin carb (correct spec on these models) engine.

Being an early MG 1100, she was fitted with quality leather at new and this is showing signs of some wear and tear. The passenger’s seat has a nice patina and would respond to some green leather feed but the driver’s seat has a few “old man style” patches over a few cracks in the leather. The back seat bears two similar. Now I would describe this is an honest old car. It’s like finding an “old car” long before the days of any real classic car scene. That is to say that it’s the sort of car you used to see on the road in the late 1960s – a bit dog-eared around the corners and a bit scabby, but genuine with no attempts to bodge or fill. There’s blebbing to the paint in some areas and a small prang just behind the offside rear door where it looks as though the old guy caught it on something. But I stress this is an unrestored car and a car that was kept as transport for 36 years until it was stored away. And it’s the 36 years, coupled with the 23,000 miles and the one owner that leads me to believe that the mileage is probably correct.

Anyway, that’s about it. You could straighten out a few dings and dents, rub her down and re-spray in her original Connaught Green. Or, for less than a grand, you can drive away and use a classic MG 1100 with a full MoT and bags of life left in it yet. Delivery can be arranged at £1.20 per mile based on one way. Thanks. Martin (07595-020282)

P.H. O'meter

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